Fixed price developments

Solution for software excellence

Context

Made-to-measure applications allow businesses to provide their employees with perfectly adapted tools, and to increase overall productivity and the quality of the products and services they provide. However, compared to off-the-shelf software, compatible or not, custom developments made by the customer continue to pose problems of cost, time and risk.

The objective of BuSI is to provide an appropriate response to current market needs by proposing an alternative to common practices – those still employed today, of client driven developments, potentially staffed by external consultants – through our “Fixed Price” Software Development offer. The BuSI vision is that this model will meet the concerns of CEOs and will hence develop to gradually replace the traditional approach. Indeed, business professionals insist more and more on being equipped quickly with software solutions adapted to their needs. They can no longer afford to be hostage to the IT department, with whom they may not always share the same objectives, and who may care little for customer satisfaction. The BuSI “Fixed Price” Software Development offer addresses this issue.

Risks and service offerings

The risks inherent in software development performed at client-side, and the difficulty in managing those risks, must be incorporated into the calculation of ROI. Numerous projects developed on site by the client fall to failure; it is based on this observation, and in order to help clients cope, that BuSI has developed its “Fixed Price” offer.

The idea of “Fixed Price Guarantee of Results” is to appoint an external service provider, namely BuSI, the full undertaking of product development, and therefore to transfer to them the major part of risk associated with the project. This mode allows the client to re-focus on its “job”.

This operational mode is the opposite of “Governance” in which BuSI guarantees the means and provides consultants in accordance with the client’s needs; in this context, the project risk is borne entirely by the client. BuSI also offers the possibility to “mix” operational modes, combining “Fixed Price” and “Governance” where project risks can be shared.

Level of formality in the methodologies used

BuSI proposes a complete offer based around “Fixed Price” Software Development. Our size and experience allow us to both cover a wide range of services and offer great flexibility.

In this context, there are various different types of collaboration already practiced by several customers:

Full project support (complete outsourcing)

Business and feasibility analysis, support for/undertaking of contract implementation (specifications, analysis of offers, etc.)

Team management

In-house project mode in accordance with client standards

Beyond the project itself, the BuSI offer (with or without SLA) can be extended with:

Application technical support

Application maintenance (TMA)

Preparation of hosting possibilities for developed applications

Benefits of a ``package``

The main advantages of “Fixed Price” operation, in comparison to “Governance” are significant:

Cost control: budget and schedule are defined at the outset

Transfer of risk: the risk is contractually borne by the provider, who enters into an approach of quality-assurance

Transfer of care: the service provider manages the development project as a whole, in accordance with professional methodologies and ensures regular reporting to the customer

Transfer of personnel management and team occupancy risks

Obligation of result: the external entity undertakes to provide a result. In this respect, the relationship is different from that with an entity internal to the organisation

Obligation to transfer / reversibility: out with the deliverable itself, the service provider must transfer all technical documentation necessary to ensure future continuity of the project by other actors. Experience shows that internal projects are often under-documented and therefore not transferable.

Guarantee of flexibility

Flexibility is also reflected in the content of a “Fixed Price” Software Development offer. Fixed price is not synonymous with fixed content. The concept of change management is implemented early on in the development cycle, implying that changes are possible and are managed in compliance with the initial budget constraints.

Constraints

BuSI fully understands the concern of the market toward a “Fixed Price” model and the confiding of a project to a third party. In order to reassure the client, BuSI proposes extensive preparatory work, precise and exhaustive definition of the project as well as a firm and balanced contractual framework; this work is done in cooperation and in full transparency with the client, thus protecting them against the provider.

Experience has shown us that these constraints prove to be beneficial to the final project, providing a justification and a solid definition, as well as a clear allocation of responsibilities among the various actors.

Methodology and quality

Methodology and quality

The real value in the projects entrusted to BuSI is our expertise; the certification of our consultants and the implementation of the most recognised methodologies, all the while adapting to the size of the project and its characteristics.

BuSI endorses an approach of quality-assurance whether in project management with Prince2, in development and change management with CMMI, SCRUM, Agile and ITIL, or in the delivery of products tested through tools such as SONAR, JENKINS and TFS. Code Labelling for the finished product through our AOC solution, is a guarantee of quality that only BuSI, in partnership with the research center Cetic, can currently offer. Naturally, our ISO certification also represents a further guarantee of quality.